Tobacco pouch and method of making same



-' 3, 1943. I. GURWICK TOBACCO POUCH AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed June 27, 1940 Patented Aug. 3, 1943 TOBACCO POUCH AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Irving Gurwick, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assignor to Shellmar Products Company, Mount Vernon, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application June 27, 1940, Serial No. 342,643

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved type of tobacco pouch and to the method of making this pouch from a laminated web.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of a tobacco pouch having moistureproof characteristics and constructed from a laminated web of rubber hydrochloride and an exterior protective web of paper or the like folded into pouch form with double bellows edge folds which provide a rubber-to-rubber contact which may be heat-sealed into integral form.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a pouch having an interior of transparent rubber hydrochloride united integrally to provide a moistureproof container and having a double bellows fold along its side, the interior fold being formed by heat-sealing adjacent edges of a blank having convoluted side portions.

These and other objects will be observed upon a consideration of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus for practicing the pouch-making method;

Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of ,a blank from which the pouch isconstructed and showing its lines of fold;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the blank with its side sections folded into convoluted shape ready for the formation of the pouch;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the finished pouch;

Fig.5 is afragmentary sectional view showing the sealing operation by which the foldedover edges of the pouch are joined together; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. showing the pouch in partially distended condition after the sealing operation.

It has been recognized as desirable to package products such'as tobacco in moistureproof containers A material which has met with considerable success in this connection is known as Pliofilm and consists of transparent rubber hydrochloride-in sheet form. The present invention concerns animproved type of pouch made frommaterial of this nature.

As shown in Fig. 1, a prelaminated web HI composed of an outer'protective sheet of paper that the formingunit effects a folding of the sides of the web into the doubled-over formation indicated in Fig. 3. These folds include an inwardly extending section 15 and an outwardly extending section IS. The edges of the web initially are folded inwardly and-then the outer edge is folded back outwardly to provide an exposed layer of the transparent rubber hydrochloride sheet I1 and an outer protective layer I8 a cutting unitindicated by the knives 2|, these knives acting to sever a pouch-forming blank from the web. The conveyor 22 progresses the pouch blank forwardly at an increased speed to the platform 23 and the stop member 24, When the edge of the blank reaches the stop member 24 the tucker blade 25 operating about the pivot 26 folds an intermediate portion of the blank to a position between the rollers 21 and 28. These pinch rollers have traveling between them a conveyor 29 which also travels about the rollers 30, 3|, 32 and 33'. v

, It; will be seen that the tucker blade 25 goes over a pouch-forming portion of the blank and the resulting folded blank passes bottom first through the pinch rollers 21 and 28 to complete the bottom fold. In passing between the pinch rollers 21 and 28 the blank is received on top of the conveyor 29. An intermittently operating edge-sealing mechanism indicated by the top member 34 and the bottom member 35 is posi a and sealed.

tioned in the path of travel of the conveyor 29. When the bottom edge of the blank reaches the stop 36 the conveyor is stopped temporarily and the upper heat-sealing unit 39 is pressed downwardly by means of the .cam 31 into the position shown in Fig. 5. Thatis, the heated elements 34 and 35 compress the outer edges of the blank together, thereby effectin a thermal seal of adjacent layers of the inner transparent rubber hydrochloride. A suiiicient amount of heat penetrates the convolutions to cause the adjacent or faceto-face wings I6 to be thermoplastically coalesced As will be seen in Fig. 5, there are three sets of adjacent layers of transparent rubber hydrochloride operated upon by the sealing .unit. The outer two pairs of layers between the outer folds already are integrally joined together, but these are heat-sealed inwardly to theextent of the A contact of-the heatedmembers with the blank.

The inner two layer 1 6 have not previously been joined together and these two'layers are sealed together in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6, thereby forming a continuous Pliofllm or transparent rubber hydrochlorite interior for the pouch.

After the sealing operation the stop member 36 is raised and the conveyor transfers the finished pouch to a point of disposition. The

method of forming the folds of the pouch is further illustrated in Fig. 2, in which the inward folds of the blank are made along the marginal lines 38, while the marginal outward folds are made along the lines 39. Thereafter the pouch is formed by folding the blank along the transverse fold line 40, this line then forming the continuous bottom of the pouch. The position of line 40 will determin the amount of material extending beyond the mouth of the pouch and forming the closure flap which is folded over adjacent the side of the pouch to close the pouch.

After formation of the pouch in the manner described, it may be filled and sealed in any suitable manner as by the application of heat and pressure adjacent the mouth portion. The convolutions give the container a definit state of expansibility without sacrifice of moistureproof characteristics.

It will be recognized that many changes may be made in the pouch and its method of manufacture without departing from the scope of the invention as defined'in the appended claims.

,I claim:

1. A container of the type described, comprising a body portion composed of an outer protective layer and an inner layer of thermoplastic rubber hydrochloride folded into pouch formation along an intermediate transverse line, the outer portions of each-side of said pouch being folded IRVING GU'RWICK. 

